Two injured in drive-by shooting at funeral for gun violence victim
‘These persons have no regard for human life at all’: Nashville police angered after suspects in Honda Civic spray mourners at Terriana Johnson’s funeral with gunfire
Two mourners were wounded in a “brazen” drive-by shooting at a funeral for a Nashville teenager who was shot dead earlier this month, police say.
Friends and family of 19-year-old Terriana Johnson were filing out of her funeral service at the New Season Church at 1.40pm on Saturday when a black Honda Civic pulled up and a gunman began firing, the Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron said in a statement.
Several people attending Johnson’s funeral drew firearms and returned fire, Mr Aaron said.
An 18-year-old woman suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, while a 25-year-old man was shot in the pelvis outside the church. Both are expected to survive, police said.
Police say they are on the lookout for a black late-model Honda Civic with temporary tags.
According to WZTV, at least 50 shell casings were seen on the ground from multiple calibre guns outside the church on South Hamilton Rd in the Bordeaux neighbourhood.
Johnson’s body had not yet been brought out of the church when the shooting began, police said.
Alarenta Waters, 17, is wanted for the 11/14 fatal shooting of Terriana Johnson,19, at Watkins Park on 17th Ave N. A Juvenile Court arrest order charging Waters with criminal homicide has been issued. See Waters or know where he is? Pls📞 615-742-7463. pic.twitter.com/3UYh2E58UO
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) November 24, 2022
The teenager, who police say was murdered on 14 November at Watkins Park, was buried later on Saturday afternoon.
Police have charged Alarenta Waters, 17, with criminal homicide in relation to Johnson’s death. He remained on the run on Sunday.
Police allege that the teenager opened fire on a car in which Johnson was a passenger after Johnson and the suspect’s sister were involved in a fight moments earlier, according to the Associated Press.
In a briefing to reporters, Mr Aaron said the shooting “appears to be some type of beef between two groups of people,” but not necessarily between the two teenager’s families.
“This was just a brazen shooting,” Mr Aaron said. “These persons have no regard for human life at all.”
Nashville police are investigating whether the church shooting was gang-related.